Arrangement In A Hollow Walking Or Ski Stick

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an arrangement in a hollow skiing or walking pole, said pole having at least a substantially hollow shaft part ( 1 ), a handgrip ( 2 ) in the upper part of the shaft part and a tip part ( 3 ) in the lower part of the shaft part. Inside the hollow shaft part ( 1 ) of the pole is an elastic element ( 4 ) adapted to be pulled at least partially out of the shaft part ( 1 ) and pushed at least partially back into the shaft part ( 1 ).

The present invention relates to an arrangement in a hollow skiing orwalking pole, as disclosed in the preamble of claims 1 and 2.

There are prior-art hollow skiing or walking poles which are well suitedfor skiing or walking purposes but cannot be used for much else. Thereare also prior-art poles or rods developed for muscular training, havingat their ends elastic strips or equivalent which can be fastened bytheir free ends e.g. with string loops to the feet, allowing the rod tobe used for muscular fitness training by lifting the rod. Theseimplements are likewise not suited for any other use except justmuscular fitness training. For example, if one wishes to do somemuscular fitness training during a skiing or walking tour, this is notpossible without separate implements or unless there is along thewalking route a muscular fitness training area expressly arranged forthis purpose.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioneddrawbacks and to achieve an economical, simple and reliable arrangementallowing a hollow skiing or walking pole used as a physical exerciseimplement or as an aid in physical exercise to be utilized in versatileways as a physical exercise implement. Hereinafter, a skiing and walkingpole is mainly referred to by the shorter designation ‘pole’. Thearrangement of the invention is based on the idea of providing in theupper part of the hollow shaft portion of the pole an opening throughwhich it is possible to thread into the hollow pole an elastic strip,such as a piece of rubber tube or rubber band, which is substantiallyalways carried along with the pole but which still remains out of theway and can be pulled out of the pole and used to perform differentphysical fitness exercises e.g. during a skiing or walking tour or atsome other suitable time. The arrangement of the invention ischaracterized by what is disclosed in the characterization parts ofclaims 1 and 2. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized bywhat is disclosed in the other claims.

The arrangement of the invention has the advantage of allowing the polesto be used in more versatile ways for physical exercise. An additionaladvantage is that the elastic strips permitting physical exercise areplaced inside the hollow poles, where, when the user is walking with thepoles, they are out of the way but still carried along and immediatelyavailable for use when the user wishes to perform muscular fitnessexercises e.g. during a skiing or walking tour. The elastic strips beinginserted into the shaft part of the pole through the lower part of thehandgrips also provides the advantage that the handgrip braces the shaftpart from either side of the opening made for the elastic strip in theshaft. Correspondingly, form-locking of the handgrip provides theadvantage of easy detachability when the elastic strip is to bereplaced. In addition, placing the opening below the handgrip has theadvantage of making it altogether unnecessary to remove the handgrip toallow replacement of the elastic strip. A further advantage is that theopening in the handgrip or in a separate sleeve or an opening providedwith an elastic ring makes the edges of the elastic opening of the shaftpart thicker and softer, thus improving the durability of the elasticstrip in the area of the opening. Placing the opening in the lower partof the handgrip or below it also affords the advantage that theprotruding portion of the elastic strip in no way interferes with theactual skiing or walking activity using the poles.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail by referringto different embodiment examples and the attached drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 presents a pole according to the invention in lateral view,

FIG. 2 presents the upper end of the pole of the invention in lateralview,

FIG. 3 presents the upper end of the pole of the invention as seen fromthe direction of arrow A in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 presents the upper end of a pole according to a preferredembodiment of the invention in lateral view,

FIG. 5 presents the upper end of a pole according to another preferredembodiment of the invention in lateral view

FIG. 6 presents the upper end of the pole according to the embodiment inFIG. 5 as seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 presents a lateral view of the lower end of the handgrip of thepole of the invention,

FIG. 8 presents a magnified view of the lower end of the handgripaccording to FIG. 7 as seen from the direction of arrow C in FIG. 7, and

FIG. 9 illustrates the arrangement of the invention adapted for use inmuscular fitness exercise.

FIGS. 1-3 present a solution according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention. The skiing or walking pole consists of at least an elongated,substantially hollow shaft part 1, a handgrip 2 at the first end of theshaft part and a tip part 3 placed at the second end of the shaft partand intended to be thrust against the ground. The handgrip 2 is fittedat least partially over the first end of the shaft part 1 substantiallyin the same direction with the shaft part 1. The tip part 3 may be apointed spike, a blunt part having a good frictional grip or some othersuitable part which is thrust against the ground. According to theinvention, an elongated elastic element 4, which may be e.g. a piece ofhollow rubber hose or solid rubber band, is placed inside the shaft part1.

At the first end, i.e. at the upper end of the shaft part 1 is anopening 5 in the wall of the shaft part, through which opening aseparate element, such as an elastic element 4 for use in muscularfitness exercises, can be threaded at least partially into the shaftpart 1. FIGS. 1 and 2 represent a situation where the first end of theelastic element 4 has been threaded into the shaft part 1. At the firstend of the elastic element 4 is a bulge 9, whose largest cross-sectionis smaller than the diameter of the opening 5, so that the first end ofthe elastic element 4 can be threaded through the opening 5 into theshaft part 1 and pulled out of the shaft part. When the elastic element4 is a piece of hollow rubber hose or equivalent, the bulge is formed bya ball 9 a placed inside the elastic element 4.

Correspondingly, the lower part of the handgrip 2 is provided with asubstantially circular opening 6 having rounded edges and so designedthat the largest cross-section of the bulge 9 at the first end of theelastic element 4 is larger than the diameter of the opening 6, thefirst end of the elastic element 4 being thus large enough not to passthrough the opening 6. The handgrip 2 is so mounted in position that theopenings 5 and 6 lie substantially concentrically one over the other.The handgrip 2 placed in position thus prevents the first end of theelastic element 4 from coming out of the shaft part 1.

In the lower part of the handgrip 2 there is additionally a gap 12starting from the opening 6 and extending from the lower edge of theopening 6 to the lower edge of the handgrip 2. The gap 12 is sodimensioned in relation to the thickness of the elastic element 4 that,by compressing the elastic element 4, it can be threaded through the gap12. Thus, the elastic element 4 can be replaced by compressing theelastic element 4 flat between one's fingers and pulling off thehandgrip from the first end of the shaft part 1. After this, the damagedelastic element 4 can be removed through the opening 5 in the shaft part1 and replaced with a new one, whereupon the handgrip 2 is placed againin position. Provided in the upper part of the opening 6 of the handgrip2 is an upward beveling 13, which facilitates the handling of theelastic element 4, especially when the elastic element is to be threadedinto the shaft part.

FIG. 4 presents a solution according to a preferred embodiment of theinvention. Here, the handgrip 2 is a solid element and the opening 5 inthe shaft part 1 is located below the handgrip 2, yet stillsubstantially at the upper end of the shaft part 1. Placed on the shaftpart 1 in the area of the opening 5 is a sleeve 7 functioning as aprotecting element and provided with an opening 6 corresponding to theabove-mentioned opening in the handgrip. When the sleeve 7 is inposition, the openings 5 and 6 lie concentrically one over the other. Toallow replacement of the elastic element, the sleeve 7 is provided witha gap 12 corresponding to the above-mentioned gap in the handgrip,extending from the edge of the opening 6 to the edge of the sleeve 7.When the elastic element 4 is to be replaced, it is again compressedflat and the sleeve 7 is slid out of position so as to expose theopening 5 in the shaft part.

FIGS. 5 and 6 present a solution according to a second preferredembodiment of the invention. In this solution, the handgrip 2 is again asolid element and the opening 5 in the shaft part 1 is located below thehandgrip 2, yet still substantially at the upper end of the shaft part1. Placed on the edge of the opening 5 is a substantially soft ring 7 ahaving substantially round outer edges and functioning as a protectingelement, the outer edges of the ring being laid on both the inner andouter surfaces of the shaft part 1. The ring 7 a has in the mid part ofits outer surface a groove extending around the ring, which groove isfitted over the edge of the opening 5 in the shaft part 1, the ring 7 abeing thus kept firmly in position in the opening 5. The inner diameterof the ring 7 a is substantially smaller than the largest cross-sectionof the bulge 9 at the first end of the elastic element 4. Therefore,when the ring 7 a is in position, the bulge of the elastic element 4cannot come out from inside the shaft part 1 through the ring 7 a. Theelastic element 4 can be replaced by first removing the ring 7 a fromits position and then pulling the elastic element out from inside theshaft part 1. When the elastic element 4 is to be inserted into theshaft part 1, the elastic ring 7 a is first stretched onto the shaftpart, the elastic element 4 is threaded into the shaft part and finallythe ring 7 a is fastened on the edge of the opening 5.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate one method of fastening the handgrip 2 inposition. The handgrip 2 has at its lower part a flexible strip 14 whichremains connected to the handgrip 2 at its upper end but is detachedfrom the handgrip at its sides. At the lower end of the strip 14 is aprotrusion 10 extending towards the shaft part 1. Correspondingly, theshaft part 1 has a hole 15 placed at a certain position and sodimensioned that it accommodates the protrusion 10 when the handgrip 2is in place. Thus, the protrusion form-locks the handgrip 2 in place.The handgrip 2 can be removed by turning the lower end of the strip 14outwards from the outer surface of the shaft part 1 until the protrusion10 is released from the hole 15. When the handgrip 2 is pressed intoposition, the protrusion 10 will snap into the hole 15, locking thehandgrip in place.

FIG. 9 illustrates the use of the pole arrangement of the invention formuscular fitness exercise. The elastic element 4 has a loop 8 at itssecond end, and e.g. a tying band 11 provided with a sticker part isfitted on the pole to keep the loop 8 remaining outside the shaft part 1tightly against the shaft part when the elastic element 4 is mainlyinside the shaft part 1. When the user wishes to do muscular fitnessexercise, he/she will place the poles side by side so that the handgrip2 of one pole is substantially adjacent to the tip part 3 of the otherpole. The user then opens the tying bands 11 and pulls the elasticelements 4 out from inside the shaft part 1 of each pole and winds thetying bands 11 around the poles placed side by side to strengthen thestretch bar thus formed. The loops 8 are placed around the feet and theelastic elements 4 are tightened by pulling the poles upwards in asubstantially horizontal position. The stretch bar formed from the polescan be further strengthened and the required stretching force can beadjusted by turning the poles about their longitudinal axes so that theelastic elements 4 are simultaneously coiled up around the pole pair byas many revolutions as desirable. After this, muscular fitness trainingis performed using the pole pair and elastic elements 4 in various knownmuscular power exercises.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is notexclusively limited to the example described above, but that it may bevaried within the scope of the claims presented below. Thus, forexample, the opening in the shaft part need not have a round shape, butit may have some other shape, e.g. that of an elongated groove, in whichcase the largest cross-section of the bulge at the first end of theelastic element is smaller than the smallest diameter of the opening inthe area adjacent to the elastic element, whose diameter is e.g. equalto the width of the opening.

It is likewise obvious to a skilled person that the wall of the shaftpart need not necessarily be provided with an opening for the elasticelement at all, but that the elastic element can be inserted into theshaft part from the first end of the shaft part longitudinally throughthe handgrip.

It is likewise obvious to a person skilled in the art that the elasticelement can also be threaded into the shaft part through an openinglocated on one side of the handgrip in the upper part of the handgrip.

It is additionally obvious to a skilled person that; instead of beingmade of rubber, the elastic element may be made of some other elasticmaterial resistant to stretching.

1. Arrangement in a hollow skiing or walking pole, said pole having atleast a substantially hollow shaft part, a handgrip in the upper part ofthe shaft part and a tip part placed in the lower part of the shaft partand intended to be thrust against the ground, wherein the upper part ofthe pole is provided with an opening placed at the upper end of theshaft part, in the area of the handgrip or substantially immediatelybelow the handgrip to allow a separate elastic element to be threaded atleast partially into the shaft part.
 2. Arrangement in a hollow skiingor walking pole, said pole having at least a substantially hollow shaftpart, a handgrip in the upper part of the shaft part and a tip partplaced in the lower part of the shaft part and intended to be thrustagainst the ground, wherein the arrangement comprises at least anopening placed in the upper part of the shaft part at the upper end ofthe shaft part, in the area of the handgrip or substantially immediatelybelow the handgrip, and an elastic element provided with a loop at itssecond end, the first end of said element being adapted to be threadedthrough the opening into the hollow shaft part so that at least the loopremains outside the shaft part, which elastic element has been adaptedto be pulled through the opening at least partially out of the shaftpart.
 3. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the opening in theshaft part is located in the area of the handgrip, under the lower partof the handgrip, and that the handgrip is provided with an opening whichis suitably smaller than the opening in the shaft part and which isadapted to lie substantially concentrically over the opening of theshaft part when the handgrip is placed in position.
 4. Arrangementaccording to claim 1, wherein the opening in the shaft part is placedbelow the handgrip, and that the opening is provided with a protectingelement softening the edges of the opening.
 5. Arrangement according toclaim 1, wherein the elastic element is so fitted inside the shaft partthat at least the loop at the second end of the elastic element remainsoutside the shaft part, which loop is adapted to be fastened to a footor some other securing point.
 6. Arrangement according to claim 1,wherein it comprises a bulge located at the first end of the elasticelement inside the shaft part, the size of said bulge being so designedthat the largest cross-section of the bulge is smaller than the diameterof the opening at the upper end of the shaft part but at the same timelarger than the diameter of the opening placed over the opening of theshaft part.
 7. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the elasticelement is a hollow hose-like element and that the bulge inside theshaft part of the elastic element is a ball placed at the end of theelastic element, the size of said ball being so designed that themaximum cross-section of the ball and elastic element together issmaller than the diameter of the opening at the upper end of the shaftpart but at the same time larger than the diameter of the opening placedover the opening of the shaft part.
 8. Arrangement according to claim 1,wherein a tying band provided with a sticker part is fitted on the poleto keep the loop remaining outside the shaft part tightly against theshaft part when the elastic element is inside the shaft part, whichtying band has been adapted to be wound around the poles placed side byside when the poles are to be used for muscular fitness exercise. 9.Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a gap is provided at the loweredge of the opening in the handgrip, said gap extending from the loweredge of the opening to the lower edge of the handgrip and having a widthat least large enough to allow the elastic element to be threadedthrough the gap.
 10. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein thehandgrip has at its lower edge a flexible locking element provided witha protrusion extending towards the shaft part, and that the shaft partis provided with a hole at a position corresponding to the position ofthe protrusion, the protrusion being adapted to be locked in said holewhen the handgrip is pressed into position on the shaft part.